Elisa Baker to be sentenced Monday

The woman who gained infamy for killing and dismembering her disabled, 10-year-old stepdaughter and scattering the pieces across Caldwell County is scheduled to be sentenced on a federal drug charge Monday in U.S. District Court.

Elisa Baker already is serving a term of 14 years 9 months to 18 years 6 months in state prison for her 2011 conviction on second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Zahra Baker. Zahra was reported missing in October 2010, and her remains were later found at various sites throughout southern Caldwell County.

In the unrelated case in U.S. District Court, prosecutors say that from 2006 to October 2010 Baker and others distributed Oxycodone, hydrocodone and Xanax at residences in Granite Falls, Hudson and Hickory. Baker was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2011 on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, three counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and three counts of maintaining a place for the purposes of distributing a controlled substances. She could have faced up to 100 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

On Jan. 5, 2012, Baker pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy as part of a plea deal.

Baker has been in federal custody but was temporarily moved to the Caldwell County Detention Center on Feb. 26, where she has remained in a dormitory area of the jail. Capt. Marc Jardon of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said the jail is taking special precautions with her.

“We are treating her very cautiously for her well-being,” Jardon said.